Additive manufacturing methods such as laser sintering or melting or stereolithography are excellently suited for a quick development of prototypes (“rapid prototyping”), which is the reason why such methods originally were applied in this field.
A development cycle for a product usually starts with a first design of a CAD model of the product, by which design the geometry (outer shape) of the product is defined. Then, having knowledge of the material used for the product (object) the expected properties of the product can be simulated based on the model. Based on the findings from the simulation the CAD model can be changed.
In the development process it is not only the outer shape of an object and the material that is used that have an effect on the properties of an object. The inner structure (e.g. hollows) and the surface similarly do have an influence on the product properties. Particularly the interaction of an object with its surrounding often depends in particular on the object surface. For example, for sanitary ware there is a trend of providing the sanitary ware with a dirt-repellant surface (“lotus effect”). A further example is a structured golf ball surface, which influences the flight characteristics of a golf ball, e.g. the (air) drag coefficient. Moreover, the ride performance of watercrafts, in particular surfboards, is substantially influenced by the interaction of the surfaces coming into contact with the water. Finally, also the haptics when touching an object as well as its appearance (for example when light is reflected) are predominantly influenced by the structure of the surface.
Recent research results show that optimized sliding properties in fluids are made possible by structured surfaces instead of smooth surfaces. Here, there is a large bandwidth of requirements for the fluid mechanics of the surface. Coming back to fins at watercrafts, the optimized surface texture depends for example on the field of application. Thus, the frequency of waves, the amount of algae in the water and the type of flow (very turbulent or almost laminar) will lead to different requirements for the flow characteristics. A further example are rotor blades of a ship's screw, which, depending on the conditions of use, should be optimized such that noise and energy needs are reduced or the steering behavior is improved.